Sunday, February 3, 2013

Scouting Report: 2014 Quarterbacks

Norman (OK) North quarterback David Cornwell

Much has been made in recent weeks and months about the [lack of] quarterback offers for the class of 2014. Numerous guys have been rumored to have interest in Michigan, but the offers aren't coming easy. At least three guys (David Cornwell, Michael O'Connor, and Wilton Speight) are slated to talk to the coaches this coming Wednesday, and there's a good chance that at least one of them will be offered at that time. Here I'll do a brief rundown of the guys on Michigan's radar, listed in order of my preference. Keep in mind that I'm calibrating for how well these players would fit at Michigan specifically, not necessarily their overall value as college football prospects.

1. David Cornwell - QB - Norman (OK) North: The 6'5", 235-pounder has offers from Auburn, Indiana, Tulsa, Virginia Tech, and Washington State. He's a tall guy with good pocket awareness and the ability to throw the ball with good velocity, either standing in the pocket or on the move. He's able to change arm angles and keep his eyes downfield when scrambling. Physically, he'll be ready to play early. Cornwell lacks great foot speed, but he's quick enough to keep plays alive.

2. Michael O'Connor - QB - Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy: The 6'5", 205 lb. prospect has offers from Akron, Buffalo, Michigan State, Mississippi State, South Florida, Toledo, and Vanderbilt. The first thing that jumps out about O'Connor is his running ability; he's no Denard Robinson, but he can move for a kid his size. He has a fairly strong arm, but his footwork gets sloppy at times, which I can see leading to some inaccuracy and timing issues.

3. Caleb Henderson - QB - Burke (VA) Lake Braddock:The 6'4", 223 lb. prospect has offers from Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State, North Carolina, Virginia, and Virginia Tech. He's a very heady football player. He takes care of the football, shows good footwork, stays balanced in the pocket, and is always ready to throw. Henderson doesn't have great arm strength, but he's a guy who looks like he's in control of the game. He reminds me a little bit of former Iowa quarterback Drew Tate.

4. Tyler Wiegers - QB - Detroit (MI) Country Day: The 6'4", 200 lb. prospect has offers from Central Michigan, Toledo, and Western Michigan. He has a good, strong arm and stands tall in the pocket. When he's in the pocket or on the move, he always has the ball cocked and ready to throw. He already plays in a pro-style offense, which is good, but his three-step drops in high school will turn into five- and seven-step drops in college. Wiegers is not a dynamic runner, but he's stout enough to shake off some tacklers. One concern I have about him is his lack of progressions; he has a good receiver in 2014 prospect Maurice Ways, but Wiegers tends to pre-determine where the ball is going. There are few highlights where he really scans the field and makes check-downs, which is always a problem at the higher levels.

5. Chance Stewart - QB - Sturgis (MI) Sturgis: The 6'6", 205 lb. quarterback held a Western Michigan offer before committing to Wisconsin. When I watch Stewart play, what I see is John Navarre. Stewart is a tall kid with some room to fill out. He has decent arm strength, but his throwing mechanics are a little sloppy and the ball drops down and loops a little bit, elongating his delivery. He's not a running threat and would be somewhat of a sitting duck in the pocket. I can see him fitting well in Wisconsin's offense during the Bret Bielema years, but he doesn't seem to fit Al Borges's ideal.

6. DeShone Kizer - QB - Toledo (OH) Central Catholic:The 6'4", 205 lb. quarterback has offers from Boston College, Bowling Green, Illinois, Louisville, Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State, Syracuse, and Toledo. He's a good runner, but he's very unpolished as a quarterback. His footwork is messy, and he has a long, looping delivery like Byron Leftwich. And despite all that winding up, he doesn't have a great deal of arm strength.

7. Travis Smith - QB - Ithaca (MI) Ithaca: The 6'2", 200 lb. prospect has a lone offer from Central Michigan. There's a lot to like about this kid. He runs his offense very efficiently, seems to do a good job of making pre-snap reads, is a very accurate passer, and runs the ball well. A couple concerns I have are his size (if he lists 6'2", he's probably 6'0" or 6'1") and his arm strength. I don't think he has the ability to drop straight back and hit a receiver streaking down the sideline 50 yards away. He also runs a shotgun spread offense, which might slow the learning curve in an offense like Michigan's.

8. Wilton Speight - QB - Richmond (VA) Collegiate: The 6'6", 217-pounder has no offers at this time. Speight might be the sleeper of the group. I like the way he throws the ball under pressure. Sometimes it's unbelievable how accurate he is with guys in his face, but to be honest, it seems like he's in a habit of throwing off his back foot because of a porous offensive line. He barely has a chance to breathe before two or three defenders are in his face. He's a little too stiff in the pocket for my liking and will struggle to avoid college rushers; he lacks great arm strength and has a little bit of a hitch in his delivery. He just looks very unpolished. I could see him going somewhere like Texas Tech or Washington State and lighting it up a few years down the road, but I don't think he's a good fit for Michigan.

9. Coleman Key - QB - Broken Arrow (OK) Broken Arrow: The 6'5", 210 lb. signal caller has a lone offer from Arkansas State. He shows good touch, and his height allows him to throw over the middle with ease. He doesn't have a cannon for an arm, and he's not much of a threat to run the ball. While many elite quarterbacks start from their sophomore or even freshman year, Key's first year as the starter was as a junior in 2012, so he's not as experienced as some other quarterbacks. Perhaps because of that reason, he seems to lack a little bit of pocket awareness. I think better offers than Arkansas State will come down the road.

10. Andrew Ford - QB - Camp Hill (PA) Cedar Cliff:The 6'3", 190 lb. prospect has offers from Massachusetts and Temple. Quite simply, I think Ford lacks the arm strength to be a serious Michigan prospect. He has some other shortcomings - mediocre size, sloppy footwork, not particularly athletic - but he doesn't have enough zip to overcome those weaknesses. He's a good high school football player, but not BCS conference-caliber, in my opinion.

Read an interview with Speight that he would commit if offered. Don't think he's one of the priority targets for the coaches, so he might not get an offer, but maybe he'd would, and commit for depth if they end up needing another qb.

I don't really have anything new on Shane Morris. I don't think he's improved much since last summer. Strong arm, pretty good feet, decent athlete. He stares down his receivers, which is a habit he HAS to break. I think there's also going to be a little bit of a Chad Henne-like adjustment period before he realizes that he doesn't have to throw everything 100 mph. I don't think he's going to be ready as a freshman, but I've thought that all along. The longer we can keep Gardner around, the better.

Okay, this has been frustrating me for a while now. I really don't think it's to Michigan's advantage to go back to statue QBs with golden arms. Do you think it's possible that a guy like Devin Gardner can change the way Borges/Hoke look at the offense? A guy who can throw the ball with accuracy but can move if needed, but also have 3-5 designed runs per game?-WillyWill9

He visited Alabama last weekend. Neither Henry or his father has made a public statement about the strength of Henry's commitment to Michigan at this point, so I'm very suspicious about whether he's fully committed. One would think that if he were 100% committed and had just taken a trip to Tuscaloosa for fun, he would have come out and said so. Surely there are numerous outlets trying to get that question answered.

That being said, Alabama just flipped defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson from Texas, so that might prevent Poggi from committing even if he wanted to do so.

I will also say, however, that the Poggis are not the most outspoken people when it comes to recruiting, so they could just be staying quiet to say "F*** you people. We can do what we want, regardless of what internet recruiting stalkers think." And if that's the case, more power to them. I don't think 17-year-old kids should have to explain what cities they visit.

I like Speight a lot would take him in a heartbeat. He kind of makes me think of Philip Rivers in that he's a little dorky maybe, but if you're coming after him with a lot of intent, he's got just enough swerve to make you miss.

While he doesn't throw rockets, he looks to be throwing a real nice catchable ball and not only is he accurate, but he is mostly putting the ball where only his guy has any shot at it at all. Highlight reel, I know.

I'd take any of the first three guys before him and if I could get two of em, I'd probably pass on Speight altogether, but I'd really like to get two this year and would be thrilled if this kid was the second one and not all that unhappy if he was the top QB in the class. I think he can play.